'We will scrap ALL of Labour's NHS targets,' says Cameron in radical new proposal

All of Labour's NHS targets will be scrapped and patients simply told which hospitals get the best results under radical Tory proposals to be unveiled tomorrow.

David Cameron will pledge that a Conservative government would give patients the power to control their own care based on new information about which GPs and hospitals are the most effective.

The strategy is high risk, since Labour will claim it will undermine its success in reducing waiting times by setting a huge number of targets for doctors.

But the Tory leader will insist that achieving only average European standards across the NHS with a new focus on health 'outcomes' would save 38,000 lives a year.

Mr Cameron will say a Tory government's 'ambition' will be to do even better, improving cancer survival rates, stroke care and treatment of diabetes so that it is 'among the best in Europe'.

Performing at the same level as the best health systems in the world would save at least 100,000 lives a year, he will claim.

Despite the billions spent by Labour on the NHS, England still languishes near the bottom of the table when it comes to five-year cancer survival rates - below countries like Sweden and Germany and on a par with Slovenia and Poland.

The Tories also say we have one of the worst records in controlling the damaging impact on health of diabetes, especially among children.

And they point to evidence that people in England are more likely to die from a stroke than in any other country in Western Europe.

In a keynote speech, Mr Cameron will argue Labour has 'tested to destruction the idea that the NHS can be improved by more bureaucracy, more central control and more initiatives from the Department of Health'.

He will pledge to phase out all of Labour's central targets and replace them with a 'clear focus on what really matters to people'.

Mr Cameron will say: 'How long will my Dad survive if he gets cancer? What are my chances of a good life if I have a stroke? 'What are my chances of surviving from heart disease? This is the kind of information people want and need.'

Replacing 'wasteful and counterproductive' targets and replacing them with 'sophisticated and publicly available health outcomes information' will give the patient a powerful new tool to decide where they want to be treated, Mr Cameron believes.

'In place of Labour's self-defeating top-down targets, we will harness the power of information and publish the details of healthcare outcomes,' he will say.

'So we'll measure cancer survival rates, instead of recording the number of radiotherapy courses delivered per month in a particular oncology unit.

'We'll measure how well patients are after treatment, instead of timing how long someone's in an A&E bed.

'And we'll measure how many people lead active lives whilst suffering chronic lung disease, instead of recording how many records GPs have updated into information systems.'

Ann Keen: 'Shallow salesmanship'

Patients will get a choice of GP and then allowed to choose, with their doctor, where they want to be treated, he will say.

They will be allowed select any hospital or community service they choose, whether in the NHS or the private sector, as long as it delivers care at or below the NHS cost.

'It is a very different way of running the NHS,' Mr Cameron said yesterday. 'Money then follows the patient.'

All hospitals in England are to become self-governing 'foundation' hospitals, and given the freedom to borrow money to invest if they wish.

Launching a NHS 'green paper' that would form the basis of legislation if the Tories are elected, Mr Cameron will give a clear commitment to 'increase spending on the NHS, year on year, so it gets the investment it needs'.

That may dismay Right-wing MPs who want him to cut public spending dramatically to free up money for tax cuts.

But Mr Cameron will insist: 'What this Green Paper sets out is how we'll make sure that money delivers - by making our health outcomes among the best in Europe.'

Labour Health Minister Ann Keen said: 'David Cameron will tell anyone in the NHS what he thinks they want to hear - whether it is patients, GPs or NHS staff.

'But beneath the shallow salesmanship, his inconsistent policies would be a real threat to the NHS services people want.

'Having opposed extra investment in the NHS, the Tories are now opposing reform that is helping to improve patient care.

'The Tories are proposing an end to longer GP opening hours; scrapping guarantees that have shortened waiting times; and cuts on a scale that would put NHS investment at risk.

'When will David Cameron come clean and tell people the real risks that his policies would pose to the NHS?'

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'We will scrap ALL of Labour's NHS targets,' says Cameron in radical new proposal